She means `fraud' in a good way

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Actress Renee Zellweger, who filed for an annulment Wednesday from country star Kenny Chesney after just four months of marriage, cited "fraud" as the reason for the breakup but said in a statement that it's "simply legal language and not a reflection of Kenny's character."

"Oh, I beg to differ," Glen Rabenn, a family law attorney in Seal Beach, Calif., told E! Online. "What is it then? She's saying the guy is a fraud. Doesn't that go to character?"

In California--home of the no-fault divorce--annulments are rare, the entertainment Web site reported. "You've got to prove your grounds," Rabenn said. "You've got to go to court."

The filer must declare one of the following: that he or she was under age; that one of the parties was already married; that one of them was of "unsound mind"; that the marriage was entered into by "force"; that one of the parties suffered "physical incapacity"; or that "fraud" had occurred.

"Fraud is a very high standard," said John Mayoue, an Atlanta lawyer who has represented the likes of Jane Fonda. "For a court to accept this for fraud, it's going to have to be a very egregious situation."

Fraud or not, the actress is hoping for smooth sailing. "We hope to experience this transition as privately as possible," she said in the statement.

Rabenn told E! Online he would expect the couple to have the matter handled privately, by a private judge; "It's very likely you will never know about this."

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The Personals page was compiled by Cheryl Bowles from Tribune news services and staff reports.